If you want to self-publish an ebook, the question, “Should I publish on Kindle or Smashwords?” is an important question. I’ll get to that in a moment, but there is a preceding question of perhaps equal if not more importance, and that is, “Would it be more fun to sit in a bar and toss back a few beers with Jeff Bezos -- founder and CEO of Amazon.com, whose personal wealth is about $35 billion -- or Smashwords Founder Mark Coker, whose entire company is worth a piddly $20 million?”

Amazon.com is the largest internet retailer in the United States. It is a massive conglomerate of companies including shoe and clothing distributors, book imprints and ebooks, newspapers, branded electronics, groceries, warehouses, R&D centers, and much more. The Kindle ebook marketplace is reported to sell two-thirds of all the ebooks sold in the United States (with Apple and Barnes and Noble selling most of the rest.) At the same time Amazon corporate visionaries derogatorily refer to original writing by their authors as “verbiage,” and Amazon seems to be pursuing various strategies to reduce control by authors over their own writing, and to reduce the revenue of authors who publish with Kindle. In my opinion a couple of beers with Bezos would be a head-exploding experience, but hardly fun, especially for an independent and serious writer.Now, consider emptying a couple of pints with Mark Coker, founder and owner of Smashwords who bills his company as “the world's largest distributor of indie ebooks.” He got into the electronic publishing business because in the early 2000s he could not find a traditional publisher for a book he co-authored with his journalist wife, “Boob Tube, a roman a clef set within the daytime television soap opera industry.” He sounds like fun. In a Q&A piece on his website the question was posed, “Will I sell a lot of books on Smashwords?” His answer, “Probably not. How's that for an honest answer? Some Smashwords authors don't sell a single book.” Of course he followed up with “Some authors sell thousands of dollars worth of books each week,” but still, Coker writes like he respects authors and is a regular working guy who pops in every now and then at the neighborhood pub. I am sure it would be a lot of fun to drink beer; eat salty, fatty snacks; and swap stories with him. Ok, now that we have settled the urgent dilemma about which ebook publisher would be more convivial, let’s move on to the question about which should an independent writer publish with.

In terms of overall market share, Kindle seems to have the advantage in the United States. Additionally, Kindle has separate national or regional ebook marketplaces that target international readers all over the world. Smashwords also has has its own marketplace where it lists hundreds of thousands of ebooks. However, and this is an extremely important distinction, Smashwords also acts as an ebook broker. if an author qualifies for the Smashwords Premium Catalogue (largely a question of how carefully the book is formatted), then Smashwords will distribute the work to a number of other ebook marketplaces to be sold directly by Apple (the second biggest retailer of ebooks in the US), Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, and others. The beauty of this arrangement is that (for a small percentage of sales revenue) formatting, distribution, and tracking of sales are all managed centrally via Smashwords, leaving the author to spend more time writing.

The determination of royalties paid to authors is somewhat convoluted for both companies, but the range tends to be narrower under Smashwords terms, falling roughly in the 60% to 80% range. The royalty structure for Kindle used to range from 30% to 70%, but now may be less than that for authors who agree to participate in Kindle Unlimited, a subscription book access plan analogous to Netflix for movies. Another critical issue for authors who want to publish with Kindle is that there is significant pressure on authors to agree to the terms of KDP Select, which prohibit the author from selling their ebooks in any other venue in exchange for certain additional benefits -- a highly restrictive arrangement which is not even an option under a Smashwords publishing agreement.

In this blog post we can consider only a couple of the many issues facing authors about how they want to publish their ebooks. However, I would advise a relatively new author to consider publishing with both Kindle (while avoiding KDP Select) and the Smashwords Premium Catalogue so that your work will be available in the widest possible array of markets. Implement your marketing plan and track sales. After a time you may find that your work sells in certain markets over others, and you can focus your efforts there.

Meanwhile, you may also want to develop a strategy to regularly inform yourself about this rapidly evolving and changing industry so your work will be produced, placed, and marketed in the most effective way. While there are numerous online resources, one way to accomplish this is to periodically invite Bezos and Coker to lunch or for an after-work drink. If they are unavailable, perhaps I could fill in. Might be fun.

This class is a practical review of how to format and submit a book for publication on Kindle, and how to monitor the book once published. We'll start with a brief overview of the world of electronic publishing. We will also discuss how to format for Smashwords and how to submit. Smashwords is kind of a "middleman" broker that then gets your book onto iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and several other sites worldwide. Finally, we will spend a little time discussing how to market your ebook.

ATTENTION ARTISTS WHO SELL THEIR WORKS AT ART MARKETS & FAIRS!!! Do you need wall panels to display your paintings, graphics, prints, etc.? I have two complete display units for sale made by Graphic Display Systems, the original manufacturer of affordable wire mesh display panels, for Artists, Craftsman, Schools, etc., to display their work in a professional manner. The display unit is the most light weight, most durable, most used and easy to assemble display panel on the market. The system breaks down into three flat boxes that fit easily in the back of your station wagon, 4wd, or today’s BMW! My panel system are in excellent condition. I have one in Colorado which I have used only 4 in times in six years and I have one in Alaska of which I’ve only used this unit 2 times in the past 4 years, and because I am changing my business plan this year, it’s time to let them go!

The system in Pagosa Springs, Colorado is the basic panel system with additional panels to add 18″ more height. Included are additional bars and clips. This system is valued at $1600; I ask $1000.

The system that I have in Juneau, Alaska is the basic panel system shown on the website to fit a 10ft. x 10ft. booth. This system’s wall is 10 ft. wide and 5 ft deep with one horizontal bar at the top. Initial cost was $1000; I ask $800.

For more info on these fabulous systems, check out the company who manufactures these at: http://www.graphicdisplaysystems.com/accessories.htm And yes, my area code is 970 (colorado)…!

After 20+ years of weaving Chilkat and Ravenstail robes, I have accumulated left over weft yarns in shades of whites, blues, yellows and blacks, not quite enough for any significant weavings, so I decided to put these yarns to use.

Nearly 40 years ago, instigated by the need for beautiful, ear-flap hats to keep the wind, rain/snow and cold out for my own children, I became a hat maker and there are a few folks out there who still have their winter hats that I made. Those hats back then have my design trademark at the top of the hats: the star or starfish, as shown in these photos. Now that I have grandkids, I am back to making these hats…happily, I have come full circle…!

Hey folks, I’m co-hosting a poetry event next Tuesday to help drum up interest during this year’s call for submissions. Checkout out the Poems in Place Project and I hope you’ll join Emily and I for a night of poetry.

Poems in Place
February 24, 2015 – 06:30
A Conversation Between Alaskan Landscapes and Poetry hosted by Emily Wall and Jonas Lamb. Readers and writers of poetry! Please come to the library to help us discover nominees for this year’s Poems in Place project. The Poems in Place project places poems by Alaskan writers in outdoors in two of Alaska’s State parks each year. To begin, Emily Wall will present images and background about this year’s two Alaskan State Parks: Caines Head State Recreation Area and Fort Abercrombie State Historic Park. Then Jonas and Emily will guide participants through a structured poetic response exploring the relationship between place and poem. Participants will have an opportunity to read these or other poems. You’re welcome to bring your books to share.

The Juneau School District has concluded our investigation into allegations that on or about May 30-31 of this year a group of incoming senior boys hazed/initiated a group of incoming freshmen boys by paddling them multiple times.

These events were first brought to our attention in early June. At that time the district began an initial investigation, which, due to an active police investigation and summer vacation, was put on hold. When we were informed that the police had concluded their investigation we resumed our efforts.